Long sleeve top with face mask

ABSTRACT

An article of protective clothing including a garment for covering at least an upper portion of the body of a wearer; the garment including: a mask element coupled to the garment wherein the mask element can adopt a stowed position and a deployed position in which the mask element extends forward to cover the nose and/or mouth of the wearer.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patentfiles or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

An article of protective clothing including a garment for covering atleast an upper portion of the body of a wearer; the garment including: amask element coupled to the garment wherein the mask element can adopt astowed position and a deployed position in which the mask elementextends forward to cover the nose and/or mouth of the wearer.

Technical Field

Generally, the present invention relates to protective clothing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Working in dusty environments can cause workers to succumb to variousdust diseases. This is due to inhalation of airborne particles andpollutants. However, workers often misplace their protective masks wornto filter out a substantial portion of airborne particles. Also, masksare often damaged from being dropped and then inadvertently trodden onand often masks can be viewed as difficult and unwieldy and as a resultare simply not donned.

In addition to environments with airborne particulate matter, masks arebeing more commonly worn due to concern over contraction of airbornediseases. This is particularly the case in areas of the world that aredensely populated such as in cities and on public transportation.

The present invention seeks to ameliorate one or more of theabovementioned disadvantages. The present invention also seeks toprovide protective clothing that includes a mask element that is easilydeployable in any situation where a user may feel they need to wear amask.

None of the previous inventions and patents, taken either singly or incombination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.Hence, the inventor of the present invention proposes to resolve andsurmount existent technical difficulties to eliminate the aforementionedshortcomings of prior art.

SUMMARY

In light of the disadvantages of the prior art, the following summary isprovided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovativefeatures unique to the present invention and is not intended to be afull description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of theinvention can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims,drawings, and abstract as a whole.

According to one aspect the present invention provides an article ofprotective clothing including a garment for covering at least an upperportion of the body of a wearer; the garment including: a mask elementcoupled to the garment wherein the mask element can adopt a stowedposition, and a deployed position in which the mask element extendsforward to cover the nose and/or mouth of the wearer.

In one form, the mask element may adopt a stowed position in which atleast a portion of the mask is disposed underneath a portion of thegarment. In one form, the mask element is in the form of a bright,concave or closed loop. The mask element may be coupled to, and extendfrom at least one anchor region on the garment.

According to one form, the garment includes a shirt type folded collarincluding an over fold wherein the mask in the stowed position isdisposed underneath the over fold. In one form of this embodiment, theat least one anchor region is/are located on part of the folded typecollar and may be located on an under surface of the over fold of theshirt type folded collar. In one form, the mask element is coupled to,and extends from two anchor regions wherein the two anchor regions arelocated on opposite sides of the shirt type folded collar proximate theto the middle of the respective sides of the wearer's neck.

According to an alternative form the garment includes a pocket portionlocated proximate a neck region of the garment wherein the mask in thestowed position is disposed within the pocket portion. In one form ofthis embodiment, the pocket portion is located on a back side of thegarment wherein the at least one anchor region is/are located within thepocket portion

According to an alternative form the garment includes a pocket portionlocated proximate a neck region of the garment wherein the mask in thestowed. position is disposed within the pocket portion. In one form ofthis embodiment, the pocket portion is located on a. back side of thegarment wherein the at least one anchor region is/are located within thepocket portion.

In one form, the mask element is detachably coupled to the garment. Inanother form the mask element is detachably coupled to the garment byhook and loop fasteners.

In one form the mask element acts as a filter. In another form, the maskelement acts as a filter for particulate matter and/or airbornediseases. In one form the mask element is substantially hidden from viewin the stowed position.

According to another aspect the present invention provides a method ofportably inhibiting ingestion of dust and/or airborne pollution, themethod including the steps of:

providing an article of protective clothing including a garment forcovering at least an upper portion of the body of a wearer; the garmentincluding:

a mask element coupled to the garment wherein the mask element can adopta stowed position, and a deployed position in which the mask elementextends forward to cover the nose and/or mouth of the wearer; and,

deploying the mask element to cover the mouth and nose of the wearer.

According to another aspect the present invention provides a maskelement adapted to be attached permanently, the mask element beingconfigured to adopt a stowed position, and a deployed position in whichthe mask element extends forward to cover the nose and/or mouth of thewearer.

The mask will have an option of filter with option to insert or removeand double lining in front of mask.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and.improved method which is of a reliable system.

This application is for all the age group, targeting all type ofpeoples.

This Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some exampleembodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects ofthe subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciatedthat the above-described features are merely examples and should not beconstrued to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter describedherein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter described herein will become apparent from the followingDetailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein.It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may beembodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed hereinare not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for theclaims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the artto employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailedsystem, structure or manner.

In accordance with one embodiment the present invention provides anarticle of protective clothing including a garment for covering at leastan upper body of a wearer; the garment comprising a shirt type foldedcollar; and a mask element in the form of a bright, concave or closedloop, and which extends from an anchor region on one side or rear of theshirt type folded collar to another anchor region or rear of the shirttype folded collar on the other side, wherein the mask element whenconnected to the shirt type folded collar can adopt a stowed position inwhich at least a portion of the mask is disposed on an under surface ofthe shirt type folded collar so as to be substantially hidden from viewunder the over fold of the collar, and a deployed position in which themask extends forward to cover the nose and mouth of the wearer. In thisembodiment, the mask element acts as a filter and may be detachable. Themask element may also be affixed to the under fold of the collar by hookand loop fasteners.

The mask element may be machine washable, and may be rated to Australiandust standard of P1 or P2 or any other dust standard for such analogousprotection in other jurisdiction around the world.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention there isprovided a method of portably inhibiting ingestion of dust and airbornepollution, the method including the steps of: providing a mask elementin a stowed position under an over fold of a shirt collar of a shirtworn by a wearer, the mask element extending in a closed loop or bightfrom one anchor region on one side of the collar or a rear portionthereof to another anchor region on another side or the rear thereof,the mask element being substantially hidden from view in the stowedposition; deploying the mask element by unfolding the over fold andextending the mask element over the wearers head so that the maskelement extends from the anchor regions to cover the mouth and nose ofthe wearer.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention there isprovided a mask element adapted to be attached either permanently orremovably to the under fold of a collar of a shirt, the mask element,when connected to the collar is in the form of a bright, concave orclosed loop, and which extends from one anchor region on one side of thecollar or its rear to another anchor region on another side of thecollar or its rear, the mask element being configured to adopt a stowedposition in which at least a portion of the mask is disposed on an undersurface of the collar so as to be substantially hidden from view underthe over fold of the collar, and a deployed position in which the maskextends forward to cover the nose and mouth of the wearer.

While a specific embodiment has been shown and described, manyvariations are possible. With time, additional features may be employed.The particular shape or configuration of the platform or the interiorconfiguration may be changed to suit the system or equipment with whichit is used.

Having described the invention in detail, those skilled in the art willappreciate that modifications may be made to the invention withoutdeparting from its spirit. Therefore, it is not intended that the scopeof the invention be limited to the specific embodiment illustrated anddescribed. Rather, it is intended that the scope of this invention bedetermined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claimsare hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a front view of a protective shirt incorporating a mask forfiltering airborne particles in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of elevation views;

FIG. 3 is a back view of a protective shirt;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the same embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a close view of mask;

I. An article of protective clothing including a garment for covering atleast an upper portion of the body of a wearer; the garment including: amask element coupled to the garment wherein the mask element can adopt astowed position and a deployed position in which the mask elementextends forward to cover the nose and/or mouth of the wearer. A methodof portably inhibiting ingestion of dust and/or airborne pollution, themethod including the steps of: providing an article of protectiveclothing according to claim 1 wherein the mask element is in a stowedposition; and, deploying the mask element to cover the mouth and nose ofthe wearer.